Posts by Rosemary McDonald
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Access: Some aspects of New Zealand’s…, in reply to Sacha,
Sacha, you clearly have a greater grasp of the nuances of statistics....help me out here.
I'm finally having a look at the.... http://www.health.govt.nz/system/files/documents/publications/demographic-information-on-clients-using-ministry-dss-september13-apr15.pdf....
page 31, table 24
and , of course, I'm looking for "64 year old male in a opposite sex partnership, allocated Carer Support".
Whoops....there's Peter....the ONLY one in that group. Really?
And, my interpretation is that about two thirds of DSS clients have not declared their marital status....despite the fact that spouses and partners are considered :natural supports" and have to be declared.
And......any ideas what "response outside scope" might indicate?
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Hard News: Dirty Politics, in reply to Hilary Stace,
When a brave waitress outed the PM's strange harassment of her
"strange" being the operative word.
Surely, Our Leader cannot survive this?
This is not only harrassment, but seriously kinky behaviour.
Without consent.
Go Colin McCready!
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Envirologue: What has Neoliberalism Done…, in reply to Lucy Telfar Barnard,
Back in the day, there was the idea of the "starter family home", which was a small 2-bdrm, the idea being that it would be added on to as the family grew.
Here....http://www.breezepod.com/
Well worth a look if you're driving past.
Very tidy, very clever, very versitile....and too clever for NZ.
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Envirologue: What has Neoliberalism Done…, in reply to mark taslov,
I'd like to see a country where everyone is equipped to build a house, via primary and secondary education, to build, to pave, to wire, connect, power and plumb, to regulation standards.
Here....http://www.branz.co.nz/cms_display.php?sn=41&st=1&pg=14034
I still have a much used and abused copy of of the first edition...circa 1993...
By far the best $24.95 I ever spent.
And, back then, the local council building inspector not only sat down to discuss my hand drawn plans and profiles but (for no fee) made a couple of time and cost saving suggestions.The fee for the building permit did not require a third mortgage and most importantly this DIYer female was treated with utter respect by both bureaucrats and building supply companies.
Being able and capable of constructing a shelter with your bare hands is an empowering feeling.
If needs must, I'd do it again.
But I bet they wouldn't let me.
Timely discussion by the way....
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Access: Some aspects of New Zealand’s…, in reply to Hilary Stace,
'watch out, difficult demanding parent, avoid'
Or, "stroppy old crip with the shrewish partner."
We have no doubt whatsoever they have a 'shit list'....and we proudly earned our place when we got a 24 hour trespass notice from parliament grounds back in 2009.
Which leads nicely to this....
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/oneinfive/20150419
Yippee! Parliament is about to become more accessible!
But don't hold your breath.
In a departure from the "only positive stories please" format, we hear how long, tortuous, steep and winding the paths to democratic engagement have been for NZers with various impairments.
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http://www.hague.co.nz/case_study_1_programme_management.asp
SOCRATES as a case study.
"It also supported greater recognition that disability services are not entitlements to be doled out but tailored supports for the independence of people with disabilities."
A rather proud wee piece from the company that designed the Socrates database.
"We did all of that over two and a half years for a fixed price and completed it on time and on budget for a solution that had never been implemented before anywhere."And.....????
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Access: Some aspects of New Zealand’s…, in reply to Hilary Stace,
who where why when was accessing support from the Ministry's Disability Support Services. Unfortunately, it has all been top secret since.
I remember an article in the Review....from the cp society, about 2008/9...
They requested quite specific data from the MOH via Socrates...and, by heavens, got the information requested.
The society were able to generate a wee chart showing the numbers of people with cp (affected enough to require support....enrolled with the NASCs) in each region of NZ.
The CP Society was able to cross reference with their membership lists in each region....with the ultimate aim of boosting membership.
Of course, with the CP Society (at the time) also being an MOH Contracted Provider...might have given them an advantage.
Of course....I cannot put my hand on the magazine. I will search later and post a link.
Interesting, at Peter's last NASC review (2013) the assessor let slip a wee piece of paper on which was written that Peter had a Brain Injury.
When we queried this categorisation we were told not to worry...its just the way the MoH sorts people.
WTF?
The support needs of a person with a high spinal cord impairment are clearly different from the support needs of a person with a brain injury....or any neurological impairment.
The Misery Of Health could'nt organise a bunfight in a bakery....to be polite.
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“The more we understand about disabled people and the support they need, the more we can do to enable them to live normal lives.
Now, where have we heard THAT before?
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Access: Some aspects of New Zealand’s…, in reply to Angela Hart,
When I went looking for this just now, I couldn't find it, but perhaps it will appear eventually.
You really have to have a chuckle Angela.....you're right, its not there...well not on the surface anyway.
What does it actually say....what new information will it throw up?
"the age, ethnicity, marital status, accommodation, deprivation levels and disability types of people using ministry-funded disability support services."
Well, that is the sort of information that should be being collected by the NASCs, possibly extracted from SOCRATES?
The question is....why now?
The Budget is coming up and the gummint has no small amount of egg on it's face owing to the low uptake of FFC.
The Appeal Court decision for Attorney General v Spencer MUST surely be pending....good god, the hearing was last October and took less than a day.
The Appeal Court was told in no uncertain terms that "the numbers" (of disabled people, with high and very high care needs, being entirely supported by unpaid family) where grossly exaggerrated.
The the need to pass the evil section 70E of the PHDAct(2) (to limit liabilty for claims under the old version) was based again on grossly inflated figures of potential claimants....there are three of us, by the way.
http://www.legislation.govt.nz/bill/government/2013/0118/latest/whole.html
So...if the release of this data is going to clarify those figures....for what purpose???
To me, the key statement here is....
"It will also help providers understand national and regional trends and inform their planning and service development."
The contracted providers seem to have their grubby little mitts around the bulk of DSS funding.
It may well be that FFC will get an upgrade....lucky for those who qualify.
It may well be that there will be another injection of funds so the contracted providers can continue and extend their good work.
etc, etc, etc.
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Access: Some aspects of New Zealand’s…, in reply to Sacha,
Interesting that the organisations getting quoted in media over the last couple of months have been the large service providers CCS and IHC again.
Well, hey, here's a bit from DPA NZ...http://www.dpa.org.nz/meeting-with-parliaments-health-committee-about-repeal-of-the-health-and-disability-amendment-act-2013-
Seems they had the ear of the Health Select Committee on the 2nd April...DPA and their good buddies NZDSN. Of which CCS and IHC are members....having big gummint contracts for providing supports to disabled persons. (NZDSN has a board member who vehemently opposes paying family carers)
The DPA piece suggests that they all got a good hearing from the Select Committee...but the MP I spoke to the other day who was there...couldn't even remember the occasion.
Must try harder!